1795 $5 BD-3, Small Eagle MS(PCGS#519852)

"Entlich, White Oak, Gross & St. Andre Collections"

拍卖行

Stack's

批号

5850

等级

MS63

价格

1,140,531

详细说明

1795 BD-3. Rarity-3+. Small Eagle. MS-63 * (NGC) (CAC). What with a "*" added by NGC (to represent exceptional quality) plus the highly valued Collectors Acceptation Corporation sticker, this particular MS-63 piece can certainly be called "high-end" among examples of its type. Both obverse and reverse are gorgeous to contemplate, somewhat prooflike, with rich frost. Some marks are seen here and there, otherwise it would be called MS-64, 65, or higher, so we will not dwell on them here, except to say that within MS-63 this certainly is a coin to remember. The 1795 half eagle occupies a special place in American numismatics. This represents the first year of gold coinage at the Philadelphia Mint, and the first denomination within that year. Earlier it had been desired to produce gold coins, but surety had not been met (see information under the 1794 half dollar in this catalogue). In the summer of 1795, coinage commenced, with half eagles delivered by the end of July. At the Mint, Engraver Robert Scot laid in good supple of obverses and reverse, anticipating a large coinage, and quite probably planning beyond 1795. Whatever the reason, coins with this date continued to be struck well into 1797, if not into 1798 (as evidenced by the 1795 obverse combined with the later style Heraldic Eagle reverse). In the meantime, dies dated 1796 and 1797 were also used. This perforation of 1795-dated dies gave rise to numismatic interest in the varieties, the first person known to have delved into the subject was J. Colvin Randall, who in the 1870s devised a numbering system. Although this was used for 1795 and certain other early gold coins, and scattered mention appeared in catalogues, we have never seen a listing of the varieties and how they can be determined. In the early 20th century, William H. Woodin (who in 1933 would become President Franklin Roosevelt's first secretary of the Treasury) studied half eagles, with emphasis on 1795, and intended to publish a book on them. Seemingly, much of this information passed onto Edgar H. Adams, who published information in the Coin Collector's Journal in the 1930s. Other scholars followed in the 1940s onward, culminating in the grand production by John Dannreuther, using the notes by Harry W. Bass. Today half eagles of 1795, including the piece offered here, are interesting to own from an historical viewpoint, incorporating as they do a generous measure of mint tradition. The dies were hand cut (except for the central hubs), and offer much of interest when viewed under magnification. NGC Census: 1; 10 finer within any designation (MS-65* finest).